Swedes vote in election that could usher far right into government

Swedes were voting in a closely fought election on Sunday that will either bring a far-right party into government for the first time or shift the country ‌back towards the liberalism it has long been known for.

Sweden's centre-left opposition holds a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc ahead of the September 13 election for parliament, several opinion polls have shown this week.

But Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who has trailed in opinion polls throughout his four years in office, has been catching up in the final weeks of campaigning, with rival Magdalena Andersson and her Social Democrats losing ground.

Kristersson has pledged to bring the far-right Sweden Democrats into government if his bloc wins.

"We can unify parties, voters and issues into joint action. That's why we get things done," he told reporters this week.

Critics say his government's agenda is undermining civil liberties while forcing immigrants to conform more closely to Swedish cultural norms or leave the country, urged on ⁠by both inducements and penalties.

"We've become a harder society, a quieter society, but also a poorer society as we've had growth far below our potential and where households see their pay checks buy less and less," Andersson told Reuters, adding that uniting people had made Sweden strong.

Supporters of the right-wing bloc say its policies have helped curb gang violence and cut immigration dramatically, and that a victory would amount to a public endorsement of that approach and more in the same vein in the years ahead.

Electoral success for the Sweden Democrats is likely to be welcomed by Europe's rising far-right parties, boosted by a significant win in a German state election this month by the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany.

Reuters